Summer shift has teachers on the move

Preparations for the new school year have begun for students and teachers campuswide. While for students this may mean getting an early start on their summer assignments, many teachers have had to make a different plan entirely–redecorating.

Over the summer, the classrooms in building 6 will be repainted. Last year’s beautification projects included the painting of pillars and outer structures but this year the interiors of classrooms will be painted. To prepare for this, teachers within the building have been forced to remove any wall hanging or decorations.

Spanish teacher Patricia Lopez is one such teacher, and has been working all week to remove the wall hanging and decorations that previously adorned her walls.

“It’s extremely time consuming,” Lopez said. “And it’s going to be extremely time consuming next year when I have to put it all back up, because I have a lot of stuff on my walls.”

For many teachers, the classroom is a place to express their personal taste and inspire students using posters, art and other wall hangings. As such, removing the multitude of items from the wall may be somewhat tedious. Some teachers, however, understand the reasons behind the changes.

“I’m glad that they’re painting, because it needs to be done, so I’m willing to take everything down,” science teacher Kim Dansereau said.

However, even with the effort of taking down and rehanging decorations, the teachers whose classrooms are being repainted are not the ones most inconvenienced by the yearly changes.

In fact, certain classes have been expanding around the school, forcing some teachers to change classrooms entirely. Although there is often some shuffling of rooms between school years due to changes in faculty and classes, it is never easy for a teacher to transfer everything from one room to another, or even to adjust to a new classroom setting.

English and film teacher Lisa Gendreau, is one of the teachers being forced to switch rooms. Her classroom, which includes two closets and ample counter space, will be converted into a computer science classroom.

As the film teacher, Gendreau often used one of the closets in her classroom to allow students to watch pieces of movies they may have missed in class due to absences. In her new classroom, this will no longer be an option. In addition, the lack of closet space is preventing her from storing prior students’ work.

“With the lack of storage in my new classroom, I am not able to store it for [them],” Gendreau said.

Nevertheless, Gendreau’s desires were superseded by the necessities of the computer science classroom taking her place. In order to hold the necessary computers for the class, classrooms must be properly retrofitted with electrical outlets and other necessities. Gendreau’s room is the only remaining such room, and as such, is necessary to the expanding computer science program. As a school evolves. Student needs change, and the school must do the same, even if it requires the inconveniencing of some teachers.

“It gives me a chance to switch things up, because some of the stuff I haven’t taken down in 14 years,” Dansereau said.

1,222 Views